Sheep Piece 1971–72 facts for kids
Sheep Piece is a famous sculpture created by the artist Henry Moore. He made it between 1969 and 1972. This artwork shows two large, rounded shapes that look like sheep. Moore created it in three different sizes, starting with a small model and ending with a huge version. The largest sculptures are about 5.7 meters (nearly 19 feet) tall! You can find these big sculptures in a few places around the world, including the Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green, Hertfordshire, in Zürich, in Kansas City, and in Purchase, New York.
How the Sculpture Was Made
Henry Moore got the idea for Sheep Piece by watching sheep in the fields near his home in Perry Green, Hertfordshire. He drew many sketches of them. He noticed that even though sheep look like "shapeless balls of wool," they have unique bodies and personalities underneath.
The sculpture features two main shapes. These shapes represent two animals, perhaps two adult sheep or a mother sheep with her lamb. Moore explained that one shape is solid and still, resting firmly on the ground. The other shape is a bit larger and more active, but it leans on the first one for support. Moore was happy when he saw real sheep using his sculpture for shelter or to scratch themselves!
A writer named Patrick Conner said that Sheep Piece is powerful. It shows not only two huge structures but also suggests feelings of warmth and protection between them.
The Story of Sheep Piece
Henry Moore started Sheep Piece with a small model, only about 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) tall. He made it from plaster in 1969, and then it was cast in bronze. You can see one of these small bronze models at the Henry Moore Foundation.
Later, in 1971, Moore made a bigger version, about 142 centimeters (56 inches) tall. This was a "working model," also made from plaster and then cast in bronze. Examples of these bronze casts are in places like the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan.
The sculpture was made even bigger in 1971-72 to create the full-size, huge bronze artwork. These giant sculptures are about 570 centimeters (18.7 feet) tall.
One of these large sculptures was shown in Battersea Park in London in 1977 for Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. Another was displayed in Paris that same year.
The artist's own copy of the full-size sculpture is at the Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green.
One of the large sculptures has been in Zürich, Switzerland, since 1976. It stands on the lakeside promenade in the Seefeld area.
Another large sculpture is in the Kansas City Sculpture Park in Kansas City, Missouri. It's located on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. When the city bought this sculpture in 1976, some people debated it. However, many describe it as peaceful, looking like abstract boulders or even bison.
The third large sculpture was once at a shoe factory in England. In 1991, it was sold to PepsiCo. Now, you can see it at the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens in New York.
